Diamond In The Rough
by KandyMiraj
Summary: She was an angel, fallen from the skies. She spent years trying to get back up, but she was weak. Who knew, that all she needed was someone like her? Perhaps, with a little work, those fallen creatures could return to the skies once more. OC/Undecided
1. A Sudden Start

**_A/N: Yeah, yeah another story. I know, I suck. I probably won't make this a very long story b/c I suck at long stories. And also I might take a while to update b/c I suck at that, too. The pic is Melek, btw. My art and yes it sucks. This story is alternately titled "The girl in this story is awkward and a big dork and needs friends lol". And that's also basically the summary, too c;_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own _Haikyuu! _or the characters from it. If I did, it'd be a BL novel and everyone would wanna do Hinata c; So thank God I don't own it lol. I only own my OC's and the plot._**

**_*_****benim güneş ve yıldız = roughly 'my sun and stars' in Turkish. An affectionate nickname that's basically calling her his whole world.****_  
_**

**__*****Sucuklu yumurta = For the ones who like to spice it up, a Turkish breakfast favorite is ****sucuk**_**cooked on a pan mostly with eggs (**_**sucuklu yumurta**_**). **_**Sucuk**_** is dried sausage made of ground beef with garlic and a variety of spices like red pepper, cumin and sumac. It may be somewhat spicy and fatty, but it sure is awfully delicious.**_

**__****Enjoy~! c:**

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_Chapter 1 - A Sudden Start._

With her father, it's always sudden. A whim. Not that she minded. It was a chance to have a new adventure, see new things, have new experiences. His career made it easy for them to travel to different cities, countries, _continents_ even.

She had to make sure not to get attached to people. Her father and her moved a lot, and if she made friends that she couldn't live without, it would make it all the more difficult. It wasn't that she had _never_ had friends - even with her general social awkwardness and quiet nature, she still made an effort. It just depended on the person being able to keep up the conversation for her until she could get the hang of it and be more comfortable around them. Which meant she was usually friends with loud, talkative, entertaining people.

"Is something wrong?"

Melek hadn't noticed she was spacing out until her father spoke. The black-haired girl looked up at her father, blushing lightly and shaking her head. Her father stared at her, one of those '_I can see right through you, don't lie to me_' looks.

She sighed, fidgeting with the end of her school uniform skirt. "I... got used to America," she began quietly, trying to choose her words carefully, "but Japan... is different. I have never been here before, as you know. I... am not sure if I can... fit in. People here are not like the people in America. Not that that's a bad thing! I'm just... bad with people. I love seeing new places but... the people are what gets me. Japan's customs, speech, mannerisms... they confuse me. So... just... what if they don't like me?"

She glanced back up when her father chuckled, "For a quiet girl you sure had a lot to say." He commented.

Melek flushed slightly, looking down at her lap. Her father seemed to think about everything she said, and she waited silently. Finally, the older ravenette raised his hands to cup her cheeks and her eyes flicked to his. She saw warmth in the brown depths, ones unlike her own and her mother's.

Her father smiled fondly, "Melek, you are a smart, beautiful, funny - albeit admittedly awkward - young woman." He grinned in amusement at her puffed up look.

The young girl's eyes darted away before anxiously returning to Bahadir's. "Father, do you think I'm... weird?"

His face adopted a thoughtful look, "Hm, yes I suppose..." He glanced back to his daughter's face before smiling warmly, "but all the best people are. Despite your unease with social situations, you are a wonderful person. And if they ever get a chance to see what I see, they'll love you. If not, that's their loss, not yours."

The older man watched the sunlight shine in from the windows, covering his daughter in bright light - turning her eyes into an even paler color, black hair shining navy in the light. "You have nothing to worry about, _benim güneş ve yıldız_ _*****_."

Melek smiled, a foreign look to see on her face, and nodded at her father. "Thank you."

The atmosphere dissipated when he stood from table they sat at, stretching slightly. "You should finish getting ready, you have to leave soon."

Melek nodded and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth as Bahadir gathered up the tea cups and plates of _sucuklu yumurta_ **_*_**. The younger ravenette bid her father goodbye, grabbing her bag and sliding on her shoes before slipping out of her front door. Catching the bus, she took a seat at the very back and pulled out an American book that garnered a couple curious looks, but they turned away soon enough.

The school was buzzing with life when the Turk arrived, looking around and taking in her surroundings. Not only was she a foreign student, but she had come into the school year later than everyone else. Classes had already began this year and now she would have to play catch-up. Not only was it hard to makeup all that work, but it was even more so for her - because, despite being a fast learner, she still had some trouble with kanji and speaking Japanese as well.

When she arrived, the teacher told her to introduce herself in front of the class. She met the curious gazes of her classmates for a second before mentally reciting how to introduce herself in Japan and bowing. "Melek Anagnotis. Please take care of me."

Whispers went around the class, mostly pertaining to her foreign name and accent. She looked to the teacher for guidance, who told her to sit behind a broody-looking black-haired boy.

Melek made her way to her desk, meeting the boy's eyes for a second before sliding into the seat behind him. She looked towards the front of the class, mostly trying to ignore the multiple gazes of her classmates, which eventually moved away when she refused to acknowledge them.

**_HQ**BBQ**HQ_**

Lunchtime was confusing as well. Melek had no knowledge of Japanese school lunches, so she hadn't brought anything to eat. Watching her classmates leave, she decided to get up, too. The ravenette found herself wandering the halls until stumbling upon the vending machines. The packages were bright, colorful, but unfamiliar and she had no idea what was what. So she just clicked some buttons and ate whatever came out, doing the same with her drink. She'd have to remember to bring some food next time and eat in the class.

After eating, she crumpled up the package and threw it away, chugging the rest of her drink in an unladylike way and tossing it as well. There was a lot of time left for their break until the students had to be back in class, so Melek found herself wandering the halls again.

She gathered a lot of attention just by walking around quietly, though, and many students were staring at her, yet not approaching. It was when she looked forwards again after checking the time that she almost had a heart attack. The orange-haired boy in front of her was practically radiating light, like the sun, but wasn't that much taller than her. He was grinning, bouncing around a bit like a puppy. Melek recognized the taller, broody, black-haired boy beside him, though. The classmate she sat behind.

"Hello! I'm Hinata Shouyou! I heard you're foreign, that's cool!" He suddenly pointed up at his acquaintance as he bowed. "That's Kageyama Tobio. Don't mind him, he always looks like that!"

"What the hell does that mean..." Kageyama mumbled, but it didn't sound like an actual question, like he already knew what it meant - and despite that he nodded in greeting to Melek anyway.

"Melek Anagnotis. Pleasure." She greeted quietly, bowing slightly in return to the two.

"Ana-... A-Ana-... uhhh..." Hinata tilted his head as he attempted to pronounce the Turkish woman's last name. Kageyama snorted at him, but didn't attempt himself.

"Mel." The girl supplied, blankly watching the odd duo.

"Me...ru... Meru?"

Melek shrugged in a gesture of '_good enough_'. Hinata grinned brightly, appearing pleased with his eventual success and Kageyama rolled his eyes.

"Meru-san, where are you from?"

"Istanbul."

"Ooh! What's it like there?"

"Different."

"Why did you move here?"

"My father."

"Is he Japanese?"

"No."

"Uhhh, I don't really get it then...?"

"Sorry..." Melek tilted her head, not sure of what to say back to that. Had she made it too confusing?

The orangette shook his head vigorously, "No! It's fine! Are you in any clubs?"

"No." The Turk looked away slightly in thought before coming to the conclusion that she should probably make a contribution to the conversation. "Are you?"

"Yeah, I am! I'm in the volleyball club! So is this guy!" He jerked his thumb back at the silent ravenette, and he scowled down at him. "I'm a middle blocker and he's a setter!"

Melek tilted her head to the side in confusion. Not having played volleyball before, she had no idea what the hell a middle blocker or setter was. She only knew the very simple basics to the sport, being more for basketball and soccer herself.

"Slow down, idiot. She doesn't know what that is." Kageyama interrupted, causing Hinata to glance back at him before whipping his head back to the foreign girl.

"Really? Do they not have volleyball in Istanbul?" He questioned.

"They do."

"Have you never played before?"

"I haven't."

"Do you want to?"

"...Possibly."

"Then you should come to our practice today! You can just watch if you aren't ready to play yet! It'll be fun!"

"..." Melek glanced away, unsure if she should stay after school to watch volleyball.

It was a popular sport in Turkey, as well as America, but she had never gotten around to playing. She played soccer and basketball until she was 12, and then got into kickboxing for a while. Since moving to Japan, she hadn't really thought of joining any clubs or sports teams. It wasn't like she was going to let herself slack off, she would definitely work out, but she hadn't thought of anything official.

"Don't just spring questions like that on people all of a sudden. She might have something else to do, and she barely knows you." Kageyama chastised.

"But it'll be fun, I swear! Pleeeease?" Hinata continued to talk to the shorter ravenette.

Despite the fact that she barely knew the orange ball of noise and motion, she felt herself being swept away with his aura. The presence he emitted made her feel better, more comfortable. He was friendly, a bit loud, but he could keep up conversation despite her quiet, reserved nature. Besides, she was in no position to turn down a chance friend at the moment.

"...Okay."

"Okay... you'll come?"

"Yes."

"Great! You're in Kageyama's class so he can take you with him when he leaves!"

"Oi, don't just sign me up for things. Idiot..."


	2. Different, But Not Unwanted

_**A/N: Sorry it took so long to update, I've rewritten this chapter a thousand times and I'm still not very happy with it, but it'll have to do. Plus I didn't realize how short it was until I reread it, and I apologize for that as well.**_

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_Chapter 2 - Different, But Not Unwanted_

Interaction was her weakness. It wasn't that she was shy, but she was awkward. She never knew what to say, especially with people from different countries. Not only was there a language barrier there, but she didn't know whether her way of speaking could be construed as rude or not.

Melek was usually relatively blunt, she liked getting to the point if someone had something to say - not that she really minded small talk. It helped her get a feel for their personality, interests, and other such things. However, it was usually the other party that had to start the small talk because the ravenette had no idea what to talk about with who.

Which is why the walk to the gym with Kageyama was mostly quiet. After classes let out for the day, she followed the taller boy silently, looking around to take in the route to the gym just in case. Many classmates still stared at her, but none approached. In America, a lot of people had approached her when she was the new student - especially because she was foreign. Was it different here? Did they not like foreigners, or was it just her? Hinata had approached her, and Kageyama didn't seem to mind her - but maybe that was because Hinata was just a very open and friendly person.

He seemed like it.

Melek almost ran into the taller, black-haired boy's back when he stopped in front of some double doors. The girl heard noise coming from the inside, sneakers squeaking on the court, and the leather of a ball hitting the gym floor. Kageyama seemed like he wanted to say something to her, but instead just shook his head and slid open the door.

"Kageyama!" Instantly Hinata called out to him in a high-pitched tone, jumping in front of him.

"Calm down, dumbass!"

The orange-haired boy looked behind him, grinning widely, "Meru-san, come in! You can meet the team!"

The foreign girl shuffled in, somewhat reluctant about meeting more people all at once. She glanced around the gym, taking in the sight of scattered volleyballs and the large net in the middle of the gym. Before she could take more in, Hinata bounced up to her.

"Come on, I'll introduce you!"

She followed slowly behind the hyperactive boy, looking at her feet as they moved across the ground. The girl looked up to meet a couple others' eyes and quickly looked back to the back of Hinata's head.

"Hey, Hinata! Who's this?" A loud, bald boy called out - anyone that hadn't been looking before definitely was now.

"Oh, Shouyou! Is she your girlfriend?" A black and blonde haired boy just barely taller than herself ran up to them.

"No!" Hinata yelled, blushing. "This is Meru-san. She's that new foreign student in Kageyama's class."

"Oh, I heard something about that." A silver-haired boy smiled softly at her.

"Where are you from?" The bald boy asked.

Melek flinched at his volume, quietly replying, "Istanbul."

"Uwooh!" The two loudest boys shouted with sparkling eyes.

"Tanaka, Nishinoya! Give her some space." A black-haired man called as he crossed his arms with a voice that was used to giving commands.

"It's rude to ask questions without introducing yourself first." The silver-haired boy chided.

"Sorry, Suga-san." The boys mumbled, looking like scolded children.

"I'm Sugawara Koushi, a 3rd year. It's nice to meet you." He smiled gently, radiating warmth.

The boys went around introducing themselves, all having stark different personalities that threw the foreign girl for a loop. From the loud and energetic Nishinoya and Tanaka, to the pessimistic and sarcastic Tsukishima, and the kind and warm Sugawara. However, she thought they'd make a good team. What one lacked, another made up for.

"Melek Anagnotis. 1st year, class 3. Pleasure to meet you." The black-haired girl bowed slightly before them.

"I was thinking that she could watch us practice." Hinata suggested, looking to Ukai.

"That's fine. You can sit on the bench with us." The older man nodded.

"Alright let's get back to practice!" Daichi called out, and the boys followed him to the court.

Melek sat between Takeda and Kiyoko, quietly watching the boys practice while Ukai stood beside the teacher and instructed the boys. The black-haired manager would comment on what was happening whenever Melek looked confused. The foreign girl would thank her, and the beautiful girl would smile kindly, saying it was no problem. She was mostly thankful for the fact that her senpai was trying to make her feel more comfortable and not pushing her boundaries.

The black-haired girl looked back to the court just in time to see Hinata sprint across the net. She raised her eyebrows at his speed, impressed, but other than that showed no emotion. It was when he jumped - flying into the air above the net, and spiked the ball Kageyama tossed with flawless precision down to the court floor - that her breath was taken away. The sound of the impact sounded around the room, sending shivers down her arms, goosebumps spreading in their wake.

Just the way that everything about it was so beautifully executed amazed her. She watched the boy land, bouncing around with a childish grin and wonder-filled eyes, and found herself in disbelief. How could someone so small, so childish and kind, produce that kind of pure speed, that kind of strength? She watched his back with eyes full of admiration as he moved back into position.

Of course, Melek had heard of and seen athletes such as Hinata. People of short stature but filled with potential and raw talent. Hell, _she_ was classified as one of those athletes. She may not quite be tall enough yet to reach a basketball hoop for a dunk, but she had incredible aim and was really quite fast, especially for her frame. And in soccer, she was practically unbeatable - even with kickboxing, she was strong and crafty, using quick strikes and dodges to bring down opponents twice her size.

That didn't take away from the fact that the orange-haired boy was still fantastic. The court was his domain, and he took to the skies like a powerful bird, wings pushing himself higher and higher over the obstacles that fruitlessly attempted to bring him down. He out-shined all others, and would only rise higher and higher until he was at the top - and he would bring his fallen comrades with him.

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_**gincitri**__**: Thank you, doll, I'm glad you enjoyed it~! c:**_

_**cocousagi**__**: I'm really happy that you think that. I'm always really worried about characterization. I'm glad you like her, I don't want her to be annoying or boring or anything like that and definitely not Mary Sue. I tried to capture the hardships of being new, as well as being a foreigner in a completely different country and I'm glad you think I did a good job with that. (If you like stories that address things like that, then I suggest you read Bergliot's story 'Of Swans and Apple Trees' on here - if you haven't already, of course). Thank you very much, doll~! c:**_

_**Bergliot**__**: Don't worry about it, senpai! c; I'm just happy you read it. Thank you very much, I tried to cover that as best as I could, thank you~! c: And I'm sorry this update was so late.**_

_**Just in case you wanted to know a bit more about Melek:**_

**Hair: **Black

**Eyes: **Orange

**Height: **156.3cm (~5'1")

**Weight: **49.4kg (~109lbs)

**Birthday: **May 24th

**Looks: **Melek is a short girl with thick legs - from sports and working out - and wide hips. She has bright orange eyes, slightly tanned skin, and thick, dark lashes. The only makeup she wears is eyeliner that wings out slightly from her eyes. Her black hair shines navy blue in the sunlight and in the back it starts at the base of her skull and gets longer as it goes towards the front until it stops at her chest. She usually wears a left side ponytail with the rest of her hair down and her bangs covering her right eye. She's got a burn scar on her right arm from when she burned it on the oven as a child (which is where her fear of ovens stems from).

She wears her school uniform modestly with the blazer on and the shirt buttoned up with only one unbuttoned. Her skirt goes a little bit above her knee and she wears black knee socks with white high top shoes and a tank-top under her school shirt. Her necklace is not visible with how she wears her uniform - its a simple silver chain with a pendant of her birthstone hanging from it and she hides it under her shirt.

_**If you want to know more about Melek or just ask me some questions about her or the story, plus see my artwork of her, then just go to my tumblr**_foreign-spitfire _**and check it out! I'd love to talk to you guys~! c:**_


	3. Filler: Twinkie

_**A/N: Okay, so this is a small filler chapter, kind of like in certain animes there will be a filler episode. Every once in a while when you guys are waiting for me to update, I'll put in a filler so that you have something to read over the wait. Most of them are to help you get to know Melek a bit more and will mostly be about her childhood. They won't be in chronological order. So, without further ado...**_

_**Filler #1: Twinkie**_

_**Summary: Melek was ten when she first met Reese. It didn't go well. Set in California, USA.**_

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Being the new kid was difficult, Melek knew that all too well already. When she moved from Turkey to Hawaii, she was still getting over the language and cultural barrier there. Sure, she had gotten better after 3 years, but she was still pretty awkward about it.

"Hey, Twinkie."

Melek looked up at the familiar voice of one of the girls in her new class from where she was playing on the blacktop of the playground. She looked familiar... It was Reese, right? Yeah, Reese Hensen.

"Um, are you talking to me? My name's Melek." The black-haired girl questioned.

"I want that truck, Twinkie." The brunette girl held her hand out.

"It's mine, Reese. I brought it from home."

"I said gimme the truck."

"Reese, you can't just _take_ other people's things just because you're bigger than them!"

The brunette girl was at least a foot taller than herself, but that didn't mean she would back down.

...Or so she thought, until Reese grabbed the front of her dress and lifted her off the ground.

"I'm not _taking_ it. You're _giving_ it to me because we'll both be so much happier that way."

The taller girl picked up the truck, walking away after throwing Melek onto her butt.

"How touching." She muttered.

"Reese, give me my truck back! It's not yours!" Melek shouted when she found the taller girl again.

The brunette girl smirked, "It is now. You gave it to me."

The black-haired girl gritted her teeth, "Well it's not like I had much of a choice, now, _did_ _I_? It was either give you the truck or get punched!"

"So?"

"So I only 'gave' it to you because you're bigger than me!" Melek shouted.

"Yeah... So?"

"...The forensic marvel has reduced my logic to shambles." The Turkish girl muttered.

Reese raised her fist, "Are you saying you changed your mind about getting punched?"

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_**A/N: Melek used to act very different when she was younger, huh? Lol. She even used to have bullies.**_

_**That won't last forever c;**_


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